Resonance of Fate

A couple of weeks after Final Fantasy XIII comes out in Europe and North America another interesting, but perhaps somewhat overlooked Japanese RPG is due for release. We have looked closer at Resonance of Fate from Tri-Ace.

Tri-Ace are best known for their long lasting relationship with Square Enix that has resulted in the Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile franchises. Late last month their first game published by a different publisher, Sega, was released in Japan, and thanks to the localisation process having run in parallel with the game's development we will see the game hit European store shelves just a couple of months after the Japanese release if all goes well from here on in.

Resonance of Fate is set on Earth in a distant future, where mankind has almost become extinct due to poisonous gases the spread all over the world. A device called Basel was built to purify the surrounding air, and civilisation began to form inside the tower. Basel is built with clockwork mechanics, giving Resonance of Fate a "clockwork/steam punk" theme. There is a theme of over and under world, with the poor living close to the bottom of the tower and the more privileged people residing in the upper parts of Basel. Familiar stuff to anyone who has played a Japanese RPG or twelve. One day the purifier, essential for human life, begins to malfunction and obviously this is where you need to step up to the plate.

While the theme of the story may seem familiar the combat system is not exactly what you are used to. It mixes turn based and real time battles and allows players to plot movement in order to pull off spectacular "invincible" moves. It takes a little while to get the hang off, but it makes for more intense battles than what you would normally expect from a JRPG.

You move around on hexagonal tiles in the rather daunting tower, moving from mission to mission the private military firm group consisting of Vasheron, Zephyr and Leanne earning a living and catering to needs of the upper class in Basel. But you are also dragged in to the larger picture, where the future of mankind and Basel hangs in the balance. There is a strategic element to the over world as you unlocked different puzzle pieces, hexers, that are key to progressing in the tower. It adds a layer of strategy that you normally wouldn't find in a straight forward role-playing game.

Resonance of Fate mixes familiar themes from Japanese role-playing games with some fresh ideas. The steampunk theme has been slightly altered as Basel is more clockwork powered than steam powered, and the battles have a fresh feel to them. It has been a long time since a strong, new JRPG franchise was established, and Tri-Ace have stumbled twice with Radiata Stories and Infinite Undiscovery, but perhaps Resonance of Fate will strike a chord with gamers both in Japan in elsewhere. As far as the game goes it looks to deliver what we have come to expect from Tri-Ace, but it remains to be seen if it can step out from the shadow of the behemoth that is Final Fantasy XIII.